ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SFBS. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SFBS opened at $84.32 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $91.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 52 week low of $58.05 and a 52 week high of $101.37.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $256.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.70 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,285.20. This represents a 10.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,377,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $191,241,000 after purchasing an additional 60,683 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,230,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,775,000 after purchasing an additional 36,302 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,126,000 after buying an additional 23,555 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 11.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,037,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,466,000 after buying an additional 108,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 13.4% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 708,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,983,000 after buying an additional 83,804 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans.